Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“I’m going to kick his ass,” he muttered with a deep growl. “When Jensen stopped by my place and said there wasn’t a party, I knew I should drive by and check to make sure you were all right.”
I sat straighter. “Is that why you were heading that way? To check on me?”
“I figured it couldn’t hurt. I didn’t want you to be in a si-si-situation that l-l-left you uncomfortable,” he stuttered, then cussed under his breath as if embarrassed by his own stutters. That was the first time I noticed his stuttering voice since the pizza night situation, and I could see the nerves in his stare. But I didn’t care about him tripping over his words because, for the first time in a while, I noticed the real Theo. The non-grumpy, caring version of him.
My own small-town grumpy Superman.
“Stop it, Willow,” he mentioned, glancing over toward me.
“Stop what?”
“Looking at me like that and crying. Don’t fucking cry.”
“I’m not crying.”
“Tears are s-sliding down your face. You’re fucking crying.”
I lowered my head slightly and wiped away the falling tears. “Sorry. Sometimes I cry without even knowing it’s happening. I just didn’t expect you to care. I was under the impression we hated one another.”
“Hate’s exhausting. I don’t have time for that.”
“Yes, well, but it’s clear that you don’t like me that much.”
He looked at me for a split second before turning his attention back to the road. “I don’t even know you.”
I bit my bottom lip. “Do you want to get to know me?”
He paused. I watched as his inhales deepened and his exhales elongated. He cleared his throat. “Did Peter hurt you? Did he…” His sentence faded before he cleared his throat again as his hands clenched the steering wheel. “Did he force himself on you?”
“Oh no. No, he didn’t.”
He parked his truck in the middle of the road, then turned toward me. His blue eyes locked with mine, and he placed a hand against my forearm. He didn’t move his eyes away from mine as he spoke. “Willow. D-do you swear?”
The worry in his eyes was heartbreaking. It was as if his soul was crying out from the mere idea that Peter hurt me. And there he was—the real Theo.
I put a hand on top of his. The heat from his warmth shot through my system. “I promise you, Theo. Nothing happened. I ran away before it could’ve gotten to that point.”
I felt his body relax as a sigh slipped through his pressed lips. His eyes fell to our touch. My heart rate increased. I didn’t pull away. He didn’t either. Not right away, at least.
Did he feel it, too? A change in his heartbeat?
He slowly retracted his hand from my arm, and I oddly missed the warmth that retreated with him. The moment before his eyes turned back to the road, I saw something that would stay in my thoughts for as long as I could imagine. I saw Theo’s heart. I saw the gentle giant who quietly cared. How silly of me to think otherwise.
His heart simply whispered a different tune than mine.
He put the truck into drive and started down the spiraling road once more. I stayed quiet for a while, unable to take my eyes off him. He must’ve felt my staring, but I didn’t care. He went out on the road, driving around just to make sure I was okay. Then he almost cried at the idea that I wasn’t.
If I could, I’d stare at him forever, hoping to see those kind, gentle eyes locked with mine again. To the outer world, he seemed cold and distant. Yet the reality of it all was he cared, and he felt everything so deeply. Maybe he cared more than most.
That had to be exhausting.
“Hey, Theo?”
“Yes, Willow?”
“I’m glad you’re nothing like your cousin.” The corner of his mouth curved up, but he kept his eyes on the road and didn’t say anything else. So like always, I continued talking. “Hey, Theo?”
“Yes, Willow?”
“Thank you for saving me again.”
“Again?”
“First on the boat when we met and now tonight.”
He glanced at me once before moving those blue eyes back to the road that was only visible due to his headlights. “Let’s not make a habit of you ending up in shitty situations, all right?”
“I promise no promises.”
He laughed.
A real laugh.
It was low and quiet, but I made him laugh.
My heart did a little skipping around. Something that happened a lot lately when it came to that man. Maybe Jensen was right. Maybe I did stare at him a lot more than I stared at others.
“You eat?” he asked.
“Not yet.”
“Want dinner? I made some pasta back home,” he grumbled as he turned my way. “Willow. The fucking tears.”
“Sorry! Sorry. Working on it.” I wiped my eyes. “Pasta sounds delicious.”
“Picked up some of my grandma’s sourdough, too, to go with it.”